Necessary Notebook Accessories

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So you just bought a shiny new notebook PC and you think you’re through shopping, right? Think again. How do you plan on carrying it? Do you need to connect it regularly to a wired network in the office? What if you hate the touch-pad? What if your hotel doesn’t have wireless and you’re forced to use the (gasp) modem? Here are a few extras, both mandatory and optional, to consider.

Cables. Notebooks that include modems come with cursory phone cables, but you might want to use the notebook while dialed in to the Internet from somewhere more than three feet from a phone jack. That’s why I carry a 20-footer in a little round retractor everywhere I go. That way, if I want to sprawl out on the bed and still research an article, I can do it. (Heaven knows no company would ever put me up in a hotel room larger than 20 feet across.) Similarly, you might someday need to use an RJ45 network jack, so having a 10-foot drop cable handy could never hurt.

Carrying Bag.Unless you never take the notebook out of the house, you really shouldn’t be without a notebook travel bag. Most have both handles and a nice shoulder strap, so you can carry your gear any way you want. They tend to have lots of pockets and nooks and crannies for you to stash disks, pens, business cards, flasks and so on.

Portable Input. It might be extravagant to carry your Logitech MX1000 Laser Mouse, with its charger and power brick, everywhere you go. I get sick of my touch-pad, though, and when I’m in a hotel or at a convention center press room I like to spread out. A wealth of small, portable mice have become available so you can use that natural mousing instinct of yours to navigate the operating system, and leave the touch-pad for the cramped seats of coach.

External Storage. You can burn disks to back up your data, or you can do it in style with some sort of external storage. External hard drives tend to be bulky and heavy, but consider a “keychain” drive. All notebooks have USB ports, and keychain drives are dropping in price-per-capacity faster than the president’s approval rating. Also, such a memory device is a terrific way to swap data between two non-networked PCs.

Security Cable. Sometimes, you’ll have to leave your notebook alone. While it might be uncomfortable being away from the warm glow of its owner, you should worry instead about somebody stealing it. Sure, you can set a password so it won’t boot without the BIOS being wiped clean, but that won’t keep the physical device out of the hands of thieves.

A security cable or kit just might. Designed to use with a key that fits a notch in most current notebooks, a short steel cable, much like a bike lock, lets you fasten your valuable property to something much harder to steal, like a table. If someone’s so desperate to steal your notebook that he’d try to smuggle a table out of a hotel, let ‘im have it.

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